It All Started With a Dare
by Sayo124
Summary: It's Halloween and Kag and her friends decide to give each other a dare, Kagome getting the ever so loved haunted house. But this may be the chance she's been aching for with Inuyasha... InuKag Slight romance. Happy belated halloween! Oneshot.


_A pointless Halloween one-shot._

_Dedicated to my new beta, Star555555528. Welcome aboard the train of fun (the train of fun that only carries you and me . . . ;;)!_

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"Come _on_, Kagome!" Yuka gave her the puppy-eyes, desperate, as exasperation filled her voice.

Kagome chewed her bottom lip.

"It's not long!" Eri chimed in.

Ayumi merely looked from Eri, to Yuka, to Kagome, and back again to Eri as she took another bite of her ice cream dish, watching in slight amusing as her friends had an interesting conversation.

"Maybe . . ."

"Maybe isn't going to cut it! We're all going to celebrate the American holiday, Halloween, this year!" Yuka told her in a no-nonsense voice.

"And we all have to take a dare," Eri added. "That's what's going to make it fun."

"Fun?" Kagome dubiously asked, looking at her two friends with a skeptical expression.

"Definitely! After all, one thing the holiday is about is to scare others, right?" Ayumi murmured through her sweet ice cream, finally joining the conversation.

Kagome gave Ayumi a look. "Not you, too," she grumbled.

Ayumi shrugged as she thought out loud. "It would be fun, I'm sure . . ."—she gave a small squeal of glee that attracted a few passer-by's attention—"Just imagine! A _real_ haunted house! Not one of those phony ones where they tie skeletons to the roof or put a CD player under the bed that makes noises, but a _real_ one!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ayumi, calm down, who says that's going to be _your_ dare?" Yuka held out her hands in a freeze' gesture.

Ayumi gave her friend a blank stare. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded.

"I just mean that that isn't going to be _your_ dare, it's going to be _Kagome's_."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kagome's mouth fell open as she stared at her as though her head had suddenly sprouted a sharp, green horn and Ayumi tripped, dropping her bowl of ice cream.

"_What_?!" they both asked in unison.

Yuka returned Kagome's look to the both of them. "What? You didn't think I was going to let _you_, Ayumi, into the haunted house when you'd enjoy every minute of the fear, did you? Kagome's reaction would be more hilarious, and she would actually have a _challenge_."

Eri nodded in agreement. "Yeah, since she's always so brave and stuff, her courage needs to be put to the test!"

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest as her eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch at her friends. "What makes you think I'm so brave?" she demanded.

This time, it was Ayumi who answered. "I have to agree with her, Kagome. You're one who's just naturally . . . well, brave."

Her other two friends nodded their agreement.

"Naturally . . . brave?" Kagome sputtered, a bit surprised her friends thought that of her.

They all nodded again with a few murmurs.

"You're maybe the bravest of us all," Eri added.

Kagome snorted. "Yeah, right! You're probably braver than me."

Eri grimaced. "Actually, I'd be dead before I'm ever forced into _that_ house. Even the homeless won't go near it."

Kagome gave a wide-eyed stare at her friends. "And you're willing to dare me to go in there? Where I might not ever _come out_?"

Yuka shooed the thought away with a wave of her hand and roll of her eyes. "_Puh-leez_! Like we'd send you into _real_ danger!"

Kagome merely continued to stare at Yuka. "Then why are you sending me into a haunted house—where ghosts pop out and could kill people—and expect me to escape _unharmed_?"

Yuka rolled her eyes again. "Pfft! Like you ever get hurt!"

The remark had Kagome taken a back, and she almost stumbled back as she blinked several times in surprise. "Wh—what?"

Eri nodded to show her agreement with Yuka. "Yeah, Kagome; you're always getting lethal sicknesses and yet look at you now! Healthy as a horse!"

"And bigger than one, too!"

Everyone froze as they slowly turned to give the owner of the voice a look.

The passing teenage girl gave a sneer to Kagome before continuing on her way.

Kagome merely sent a glare after her. Had it not been for the fact that Kagome couldn't fight well, she would have followed that girl and given her a good—

"Ignore her, Higurashi-san."

Only one person called her that . . .

Kagome turned to see exactly who she knew the person was . . .

"Hojou-kun!" she greeted warmly. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I was looking for you, actually."

Kagome dead-panned. "Oh . . .?" _Looking_ . . . _for me?_

Hojou nodded enthusiastically. "I was wondering if you were free this weekend? You see, there's a new movie coming out, and it's supposed to be really good."

Kagome felt a little torn. She _wanted_ to go, but there were two problems with this:

1) She was most likely going to be in the Feudal Era, and

2) Even if she somehow _was_able to get back this Saturday, Inuyasha was _not_ going to let her go out if he knew about it . . .

_But who said he has_ _to know about it?_

Kagome smiled as she realized that and nodded. "Of course, I'd be glad to, Hojou-kun . . ." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "I just hope I don't get sick again . . ."

Hojou shook his head. "I know you won't, Higurashi-san, I have a feeling."

With that, he said his good-bye—almost totally ignoring her three friends—and quickly disappeared into the thick crowd.

Eri growled. "That's another reason why you're going! So we can get rid of you and have Hojou all to ourselves."

"Eri!" Yuka scolded. Kagome was giving a half-serious glare to her friend—quite proud that Yuka was defending her—as she continued. "You don't tell her the plan!"

Kagome choked on dry air as she turned to pin Yuka with her glare. "Are you _all_ in on this?" she demanded—once again, only slightly serious.

Ayumi blinked twice in surprise as she gave Kagome a look that clearly translated into: _I had no idea they were going this—I'm not in on it!_

Kagome rolled her eyes as she dismissed it. "So, if I _have_ to do the haunted house, what are you guys doing for your dare?"

The three other girls exchanged looks.

"Uh . . ." Eri began.

"Well . . ." Yuka tried.

"I'm going into the graveyard!" Ayumi piped in.

Kagome gave the other two skeptical looks. "And what are you two doing?"

"I'm . . ." Eri began, only to drift off again.

"Erm, I, uh . . ." Yuka stuttered.

Kagome arched an eyebrow. "You're doing nothing?"

"No!" they both cried at the same time.

"We just haven't been dared yet," Eri explained.

"Yeah," Yuka agreed. "So, what do you want us to do?"

Kagome turned to Ayumi, who was giving her a grin fit for a Cheshire cat. "Okay, how bout this? Eri, you have to go through one night without sleep—"

Eri's brow creased in a curious frown. "How's that scary?"

"Let me finish!" Kagome whined. "You have to go one night without sleeping, but you have to stay out in the dark—"

"That's also not scary!"

"_Will you let me finish_? Okay, Eri," Kagome started again, a wee bit miffed. "You have to go one night without sleep, in the dark, by _your_ house . . . and you have to get a picture of . . . _him_."

Eri's face blanched of al color. "B—but, Kagome, he's . . . he creeps me out!"

Kagome looked positively smug. "I wouldn't have made it so scary if you hadn't kept interrupting me. Besides, there's nothing to be afraid of—he's harmless!"

Kagome, Yuka, and Ayumi knew very well that Eri was petrified of the weird man that lived several feet down the road who sat out front of his apartment every night, staring at nothing and always mumbling about something. It was claimed he was actually a ghost that had been tortured to death during one of the Wars because he was only ever seen at night—and the fact that he was incredibly pale and had many scars.

Kagome would bet he just forgot his mind somewhere deep in his sock drawer and now couldn't find it . . .

But that didn't help Eri's phobia of her neighbor _at all_.

Eri pouted. "Please, Kagome, anything else but—but _that_?"

Kagome snorted again before hotly retorting, "If I've got to go in a haunted house, the least you could do is take a picture of your neighbor at night!"

Eri's eyes narrowed. "Fine then, I raise your dare; you now have to last a _whole_ night—from sundown to sunup—in the mansion and if you come out before dawn, then you have to . . ."

"Give Hojou to one of us!" Yuka chimed in.

Eri looked at the other girl before giving a slight smile. "Good idea," she complimented before pointing at Kagome accusingly. "Yeah, Kagome, you have to give Hojou to one of us."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Guys, you can _have_ him!"

Ayumi's eyes widened. "Are you still together with your boyfriend?"

Yuka gasped softly. "Oh, no, Kagome, what are you still doing with that ungrateful, two-timin—"

Kagome gave them a small warning glare. "Don't talk about him like that," she defended. "He's not two-timing' me, okay?"

Ayumi gave her a questioning look. "Did he give up on that other girl?"

A fine pink dust settled on her warm cheeks. "No," she mumbled.

"Are you together with him, then?"

Kagome sighed. "No, we were never actually . . . together."

Yuka gave her a look. "But I thought—"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, you guys thought,' you never _knew_ we were together, right?"

Yuka and Eri gave each other a look.

"You sorta implied it," Eri carefully told her.

Kagome threw her hands up, her eyes closing in agitation. "Look, I don't wanna talk about it, okay?"

When she opened her eyes again, she saw her friends give each other a glance. "Kagome, is he—?"

Not wanting to hear what they were going to accuse him of now, she quickly changed the subject. "Yuka, you still need your dare, and I'm going to give it to you."

Yuka gave her a horrified look.

Eri and Ayumi merely exchanged coy looks.

"Your dare is going to be . . . you need to run around your block three times in the middle of the night when everyone is most likely asleep."

"Uh . . . okay," Yuka replied, giving her a dumb look.

"Wait," Kagome held up her hand. "I'm not finished. You need to—"

"You can't be wearing anything but your panties!" Eri interjected.

Yuka gave them a horrified look. "You're not serious!"

Kagome smiled. "We'll get into the details later."

_Keep her in some suspense for giving me the haunted house_.

Yuka was about to protest when Kagome looked at her watch. "Oh, dear! Would you look at the time? I really need to be going now, so I'll see you guys later!"

With that, she hastily made her departure.

She must've gotten twenty unanswered phone calls from Yuka that night, telling Kagome she wasn't going to do the dare.

Kagome called up Eri and Ayumi they decided that if anyone didn't do the dare, there was going to be a humiliating punishment—running—or walking—around the city . . . naked.

It was Eri's idea—of course.

With a _lot_ of convincing, both Ayumi and Kagome agreed—although it didn't take much to convince Ayumi, Kagome was very reluctant until Eri _and_ Ayumi ganged up on her.

_It's not like anyone is going to reject the dare_, she thought sensibly as she hung up.

She rolled her head on her neck when she heard her window creak open.

"Wench, when the hell are you coming back?"

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

"_Hell_ no!"

"Why?"

"There ain't no way!" Inuyasha repeated.

Kagome's lips formed a thin line as she held her temper. "_Why_?" she impatiently demanded.

Inuyasha mumbled something that Kagome couldn't hear.

She growled. "You're infuriating; and I _am_ going to stay here an extra day to celebrate Halloween with my friends, whether you like it or not!"

The hanyou huffed. I don't think so."

Kagome gave him a glare. "I am _so_. You can't tell me what to do! Now get out—now."

Inuyasha her a halfhearted glare in return. "But—"

"_Now_!" the miko bellowed again, a flame igniting in her eyes.

Inuyasha mumbled before grudgingly turning and hopping out her window, quickly darting into the well house.

Kagome stuck her tongue out when he was gone. _He can't tell me what to do!_

Kagome yawned before crawling into bed.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 -**_

Kagome woke up to a growl.

And another.

And another.

_What the—?_

Turning in her bed, Kagome's eyes scanned the room for the cause of the noise.

It didn't take long for her to find it . . .

Inuyasha.

Kagome sat up as she gave the hanyou a look.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

Golden eyes bored into hers.

"I'm sorry."

"I asked you what—" Kagome broke off as she gave the hanyou a stare. "Wait . . . What did you say?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed slightly. "Keh! You heard me!"

Knowing better than to press the subject, Kagome tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and waited for him to speak.

"So . . . what's this . . . Hollow Ween' thing, anyway?"

Kagome bit her lip to swallow a giggle at the expression on Inuyasha's face.

"It's _Halloween_, Inuyasha, and it's a holiday people celebrate over across the ocean where people go around scaring others—and getting candy."

Inuyasha gave her a look. "So, basically, it's a holiday where you scare each other . . .?"

Kagome thought about that before shrugging. "I guess . . ."

Inuyasha huffed. "Keh! It don't sound like fun!"

The miko rolled her eyes. "I know," she grumbled.

"If you don't wanna do it, why are you gonna stay?"

Kagome made a face. "Because I . . . sorta promised my friends . . . well, not in so many words, but it was implied," she insisted.

The hanyou gave a long-suffering sigh. "Maybe," he relented. _Whatever makes you happy_ . . .

Kagome smiled with glee. "Thanks for thinking about letting me stay, oh, mighty one," she said sarcastically.

Inuyasha snorted. "Bite me."

Kagome's eyes widened as her face flushed at the thought of that . . . possibility—most of them being very dirty and involving two people—favorably her and Inuyasha—with no clothes on, in a hotel with a Do Not Disturb' sign on the door handle . . .

". . . Wanna?"

Kagome sputtered. _Whoa! Mind out of the gutter!_

Kagome shook her head very slowly to clear any and all dirty thoughts. _I don't even know where that came from!_ her mind whined.

"Wait . . . you don't?"

Inuyasha's comment gave Kagome a startle as she forced her mind on different things—anything, basically—besides what a new part of her wanted to think.

"Wanna what?"

Inuyasha gave her a look. "Stay here, wench! I thought you wanted to stay for that Hallow Ween' thing of yours."

Kagome's eyes widened knowing he was telling her in his own way she could stay. She squealed and launched herself into his arms. "Thank you!"

Inuyasha huffed, quickly standing when she pulled away. "Keh! I gotta go."

He promptly turned and hurriedly left.

But Kagome saw the pinkness of his cheeks . . .

And the smile that had adorned his face.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

"Twelve hours," Yuka corrected.

"_Eternity_!" Kagome wailed as she examined the dark house.

"Oh, get going!" Yuka grumbled, and promptly shoved Kagome threw the gate, slamming it shut with a loud clatter and the click of the lock going back in place.

Kagome whirled and pulled on the gate. When seeing it wouldn't open, she pushed her face up to the cold bars. "No fair."

Yuka shrugged. "It's not about fair."

Kagome stuck out her tongue. "You need to tell me a little about this place, don't ya think? I'm spending the night here, after all."

Yuka paused and thought about that for a second. "Well, all I know is that not everyone who went in came out . . . and everyone who's managed to come out from in there came out insane—of course they were alone."

"And anyone who went in with someone else . . .?"

She shrugged. "No one's ever attempted it. Everyone went in alone to try and prove the whole thing wrong . . . No one's ever succeeded, though."

Kagome clenched her jaw as her eyes narrowed. "Do you know what danger you're putting me in?"

Yuka rolled her eyes. "Puh-leez! As if any of this is true!"

Kagome gave her friend a considerate look. "Do you believe in demons?"

A look that suggested Kagome had grown an extra pair of eyes was her answer—no.

"Then you have no room to talk."

Yuka glanced at her watch. "It's seven, Kagome. Time to go in."

The miko was about to retort that she'd go in when she felt like it when Yuka grabbed a hold of Ayumi and Eri and pulled them away with a tossed "See ya tomorrow!" over her shoulder.

Kagome rattled the gate again, futilely trying to get out.

After a few minutes, she realized she was only wasting her energy. Reluctantly, she turned and grudgingly trudged to the entrance of the house.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

_Well, nothing's happened so far,_ Kagome wrote in the journal Ayumi had given her, wanting a full account on what happened inside.

She adjusted her position—she was currently cover in a blanket, sitting with her side against a wall, her back leaning against the book bag full of necessities she had brought—and continued writing.

_The place is dark and gloomy, though. It makes me thin of death wherever I look—seriously!_

_I've started to thin that maybe the whole people-come-out-of-haunted-house-insane' thing is a hoax. I mean, nothing's happened so far. And if nothing's happened to this point, nothing is most likely going to happen._

Kagome sighed and let the journal fall to her lap. Her eyes closed and she allowed herself to daze.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

She was awoken by a very loud _thunk!_

She didn't know where it came from, but her eyes snapped open as she examined the room for any sign of life besides her.

She found nothing, but that didn't appease her uneasiness.

Deciding to play it safe rather than sorry, she flipped the blanket off of her body and examined it for any missing pieces, broken bones, or misshapen things that magically attached itself.

Once again, she found nothing.

She rubbed her face with her hands to double check that nothing was wrong; and when nothing prominent stood out—besides what felt like some hints of bags forming under her eyes—she relaxed slightly.

Kagome swallowed before hesitantly reaching out and grabbing her blanket as though it was going to spring out and attack as she gave it a thorough check for a bomb or something.

Her search came up with nothing and she covered up with it again, hoping she'd be able to calm her rattled nerves.

She groped the floor for her lamp-flashlight and turned it on, calming herself with some light so she could see better. She took a few deep breaths to help the process along as she looked at the time again.

She'd only been asleep a few minutes . . . she shook her head and continued to slow her racing heart.

Within several moments, she was back to smiles and laughs as she pulled out a text book and notebook, deciding to do some homework so she wouldn't fall back to sleep.

_4d2(x-22) 325.88_

Kagome blinked in surprise at the easiness of the problem.

_Wait a second_ . . .

Flipping the book over, she read the cover only to see it was Souta's advanced Mathematics book.

Grumbling, Kagome shoved the book back into her book bag and pulled out the right one, turned to the right page, and began her homework.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

She jerked awake when she heard a growl. Her head snapped to the doorway across the room, her mind clearing from the clingy sleep.

_Wait . . . I was asleep again?_

Her mind snapped to reality as the thought entered her mind.

She didn't remember falling asleep. Her last memory was of doing her math homework, and then . . . it went blank.

_But I didn't fall asleep!_ She told herself determinedly. _I didn't!_

She checked her watch to see she had only dozed for not-even five minutes.

She groaned before flopping against her book bag.

She heard a growl again. Kagome remembered why she had woken up in the first place and her body snapped with tension as she sat up.

She glared at the door, waiting, not saying a thing.

There was another growl.

"Who's there?" she demanded, anger overpowering her fear.

No answer—though she shouldn't have expected one.

Kagome cleared her throat before trying again. "Who's there? Answer me!"

When there was no answer, Kagome quickly stood and grabbed the lamp-flashlight.

She pressed herself up to the wall by the open door-way and pressed her eyes closed, to calm her rapidly working heart and to hear for the sound again.

It only took a few seconds before she heard it—a little louder than before as though whatever was making the noise was right on the other side of the wall—which it might have been.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome jumped out into the hall with a, "I'll teach you to—" but immediately cut herself off when she saw just . . . _what_ was making the growling noises.

To say she was surprised would be an understatement.

"Wait . . . a second here . . ." her surprise suddenly disappeared only to be replaced by anger. "_What are you doing here_?" she hissed.

Inuyasha's ears flicked back in annoyance. "I should be asking _you_ that."

Kagome glared at him. "How do you think?"

Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms. "You said you were spending this Hallow Ween' thing with your friends."

"I am!"

"How?" Inuyasha bellowed, beyond peeved at this point.

Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but Inuyasha shook his head. "No, your words were, wench, that you were going to spend this holiday-thing with your friends." He looked around emphatically. "And I don't see them."

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest, almost a mimic of him. "I _am_ spending it with them!" she retorted.

Inuyasha's brow rose. "So, when they say they're going to spend time' with you, they're going to abandon you?" He snorted. "Maybe I should spend time' with you."

Kagome glared stonily at him. "One thing you do is give each other a dare—a thing where you say, "I dare you to . . ." and then you fill in the sentence with something you want them to do. And when you start it with "I dare you," they have to do it or face some sort of consequence."

Inuyasha gave her a look. "So . . . what does this have to do with the fact that you're not with your friends?"

Kagome sighed. "I just told you! They dared me to stay in here all night by myself."

"You did not just tell me that!" Inuyasha sputtered indignantly before continuing, "and that has nothing to do with that fact that you're not with your friends!"

"Yes it does!" Kagome retorted. "They dared me to stay here all night by myself."

Inuyasha gave a frustrated sigh. "You're still not spending time with your friends."

"I was! Then they dared me to stay here!"

Inuyasha shook his head before Kagome threw her hands in the air, exasperated. "Fine, fine! Whatever!"

Inuyasha huffed before turning. "I guess I'll be going, then."

He was about to take a step when Kagome latched herself to his arm. "Wait . . . please don't go." Quietly, so quietly, Inuyasha strained to hear it, Kagome muttered under her breath, "It's scary in here."

Inuyasha didn't even think about. Automatically, he snorted. "Hell, wench, if you want me to."

Kagome released her death grip on his arm. "Thanks," she murmured.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

_How the hell did I get suckered into this?_ He thought as Kagome leaned against his side, working on some homework from her text books.'

_Oh yeah,_ he thought grimly. _She asked me to_.

She asked anything of him and he was all ears . . . something he had no control over—quite annoyingly.

_If you dare_' _someone, they have to do it,_ he mused. _Interesting_ . . .

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

The first thing she noticed was the warmth of her pillow,' Inuyasha.

The second . . .

That she had fallen asleep—

_Again_!

Kagome sat up and growled before looking over at the hanyou—who was also waking form a doze.

A wee bit mad, Kagome stood and grabbed the shoulder strap of her book bag and pulled it up to her shoulder—thinking that maybe a little bit of the food she had packed would help wake her up. She didn't care when her careless throw of her book bag over her shoulder knocked a dresser over and busted one of the drawers out.

She took her place next to Inuyasha before opening her backpack and pulling out a container of lukewarm rice.

Come to think of it . . . she had only been in this house for a little under an hour.

Kagome opened the container and the aroma filled the air.

"Hungry, Inuyasha?"

"Keh!"

"If you say so—"

"I'm hungry."

Kagome and Inuyasha both gave each other a look of curiosity. Inuyasha shook his head, telling her he didn't say anything. Kagome nodded in turn.

They both blinked at each other.

"Very hungry, in fact." The voice was deep and scratchy.

The miko's and hanyou's head whipped in the direction of the door. Both Inuyasha and Kagome, at the same time, asked, "Who's there?" though Inuyasha sounded more demanding while Kagome's voice quivered with fear.

Their answer was a chuckle.

Inuyasha growled before standing up, moving in front of Kagome and placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Show yourself!" he demanded.

There was another chuckle. "Impatient, aren't we?"

"Coward!" Kagome piped up.

"Oh . . .?" the voice sounded amused. "Are you protecting the wench, hanyou? Does she mean that much to you?"

"Shut the fuck up and be prepared for me to put my Tetsusaiga where the sun don't shine!" he bellowed, pulling his sword out of its sheath. It transformed and he leapt at the door way, looking down both halls.

"I'm not there, hanyou. You'd think maybe you'd have _some_ intelligence, being a hanyou and all."

Inuyasha growled. "Where the hell are you?"

Kagome whirled around. "Inuyasha, he's in the dresser!"

The hanyou didn't miss a beat and leapt towards the dresser that Kagome had earlier knocked over. "Come out and fight me!" Inuyasha gave a single swing of his sword, neatly cutting the dresser in two.

Something quickly ran by Inuyasha. Seeing it from the corner of his eye, Inuyasha blindly swung at it.

"You're not too bad, hanyou."

"Too bad I can't say the same to you," Inuyasha ground out as he turned to see another blur heading for him. Inuyasha swung and narrowly missed his target. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Hirohiko," came his simple reply.

"Keh! Never heard of you; and I ain't heard of you, you ain't important."

"Shows what you know!" Hirohiko scoffed. "I'm a well-known demon!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're a demon?"

Hirohiko gave a growl. "How could you _not_ notice that? I'm _pure_ demon!" He really emphasized pure' as though it would help to ring a bell.

Inuyasha carelessly shrugged. "Keh; don't matter if I've never heard of ya."

Kagome suddenly realized something. "You're the one who haunts this place, aren't you?" she accused.

The demon stopped short on top of the broken dresser and gave Kagome a blank look. He was short, standing about four feet and had a thin layer of brown fur covering his whole body. His eyes had an almond accent to their shape and his fingers had long, sharp claws.

_A . . . jackal demon?_

Hirohiko looked Kagome over as he just realized something. "You're not sleeping."

Kagome merely stared at him as though he had grown another head. "Ye-e-eah," she said slowly, as though talking to a toddler.

Hirohiko continued to gawk at her. "I put a spell in the air that you'd grow so tired, you'd fall asleep . . ." he drifted off.

Kagome bristled. "What did you do to the other people that came in here?"

The demon shrugged nonchalantly. "Same thing I would've done to you: put them to sleep and then eat them."

Kagome made a face. "Thank goodness I woke up," she mumbled.

Inuyasha didn't wait to hear anymore. _Bastard tried to eat my Kagome!_ Inuyasha mentally roared, thinking about what might've happened had he not come . . .

His rage grew.

"Bastard!" he bellowed as he leapt and thrust his sword at Hirohiko, cutting him in two.

Hirohiko gave a cry of anguish as his body separated and dissolved.

Kagome's shoulders slumped as she stared at where Hirohiko had stood seconds before. _So when Yuka said that not all the people who came in came out, he ate them?_ She shuddered. _Ewwww_ . . .

Kagome sat down by her book bag, relieved that she no longer had anything to fear in the house.

Inuyasha snapped out of a daze and took his place by her side.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 -**_

_If you dare someone, they have to do what you want them to_ . . .

That fascinated Inuyasha, but he didn't know why.

_If I dared Kagome to stop sitting me, would she do it?_ he wondered. _If I dared her to bring me more ramen when she goes back, would she do it?_

Inuyasha peeked over at Kagome, who currently sat over a text- and notebook, brow creased in frustrated concentration.

Absently, he murmured, "If I dared you to kiss me . . . would you?"

Kagome's head snapped up and she blinked several times at Inuyasha, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

_Did he just_ . . .

Inuyasha seemed to notice something was wrong and looked at Kagome. "What? What? _What_?" he demanded, seeing that she wasn't answering.

There was a long pause before Kagome murmured, silently enough that she hoped Inuyasha wouldn't hear, "I would." Her blush, if possible, darkened.

The hanyou seemed shocked out of his mind that she said that. _It's almost like she could read my mind_ . . .

Then it hit him.

_Holy shit! I said that out loud!_

His face pinkened as his mind chanted, _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,_ shit . . .!

Kagome bit her lip. "Is that . . . a dare?" she managed to squeak.

Inuyasha's mind shut down at that. He blinked several times before mutely nodding.

Kagome swallowed, hoping her courage wouldn't fail her . . . "Then—" she stopped to take a deep breath. "Then . . . then put it in an "I dare you" form." her voice was a little more than a croak.

Inuyasha vigorously shook his head.

Kagome waited a few minutes before whispering, "Then . . . then . . . I dare you—"

She could see his eyes widen slightly in alarm.

"I—I dare you to—to . . ." she drifted off and squeezed her eyes shut. _Just spit it out, Kagome!_ _This is a chance of a lifetime!_ Her mind screamed at her.

She didn't get a chance to finish her dare . . .

Inuyasha kissed her anyway.

The kiss they both had been waiting two years for.

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

_So, Ayumi, you want me to sum up the night?_ Kagome wrote, chancing a glance over at Inuyasha—who was sitting, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, but not asleep. He wouldn't fall asleep when another demon could pop out of nowhere and attack.

_I'd like to thank you, Eri, and Yuka for giving me this specific dare. Sounds crazy doesn't it? I was against this form the start and now my tune's changed. Strange, isn't it? A simple thing like discovering the true "ghost" of this haunted house can make me glad I came here—an no, I'm not telling you who the "ghost" is._

_If you really want to know, I had backup on my side . . . I had love._ Kagome stopped, thinking that if she wrote that Inuyasha had come, she might have to run around the block naked . . .

_And no, not literally. Just thinking about all the fun times with my . . . my boyfriend gave me the hope to make it threw the night._

_And ha! I made it! I didn't chicken out or anything, either!_

_This place is actually kinda cool . . . once you get past the whole myth behind it and_ _the look of death and feeling of evilness you get around it . . ._

_Signing off, and saying thank you,_

_Kagome._

She snapped the journal closed before glancing over at Inuyasha, who was staring at her.

"What?"

He shook his head slowly. "Just thinking."

"Oh?"

"You really are something."

"Oh?"

"I thought you would've begged me to get you out of here the moment I got here."

". . . Oh?"

"Yep, I thought you were a weak little girl who wanted a hero."

". . . _Oh_?!" _Really now_ . . .?

Inuyasha merely nodded, trying not to smile. "Yeah."

Kagome stormed over to him, hands on hips, eyes narrowed in a glare. "Really?"

The hanyou looked up, expression suddenly blank.

"Because I could've sworn—!"

Inuyasha stood, his golden eyes bright.

Kagome opened her mouth to finish her retort.

Only to have it smothered with Inuyasha's

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

_So, yeah. You could say this was one of the best dares I ever saw . . . or experienced first hand_.

"Faster, Yuka! I don't see you running hard enough!"

"Damn you!" a peeved voice snapped, as she jogged faster.

Kagome laughed as she leaned out the car window. "Four more times and we'll be even!" she cried to her friend.

Yuka groaned before running past a teenage boy, who dropped the box he was carrying and gawked after the nude Yuka.

"Take a picture—it'll last longer!" Eri suggested as they drove by.

That's exactly what he did.

_But I'd be lying. Yuka refused her dare, and as such had to_ _do the consequence—which was raised to five times around the block— in the nude._

Yuka growled as she jogged at the wolf whistle that came in her direction.

_The only time we could do this, however, was three in the morning, when no one's out and everyone who sees won't care, but rather find it amusing._

"Kagome," Eri managed through her laughter. "Can you see you doing this as a show for your boyfriend?"

Kagome's laughter was cut off with a gasp. "Eri!" she cried, covering her red face with her hands, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh? Is that a yes?" Eri teased.

The miko stuck her tongue out.

_Actually . . . that would be quite amusing_ . . .

Kagome looked over at Yuka, who was drawing a crowd of boys who were running after her, whistling and cracking jokes. Yuka merely snapped that they should mind their own business.

Kagome's cheeks turned darker. _I could see this happening in the near future_ . . .

She wouldn't tell Eri that, however . . .

_**-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-**_

_(E/N: Guess what!!! It is the zombie's birthday on Halloween. He's going trick or treating w/ me. Ok the entire time I was reading this I was cracking up laughing. It was soooo awesome wasn't it. So review please!!! Oh and Zombie dude says hi to everyone!)_

_Woo, done! How was it? Just review and tell me! Oh, and this had slight OOCness in it . . . just a little, though! Happy Halloween to all . . . and please DO NOT attempt this at home! The police will get you and fine you._

_And note: I wrote this last year so forgive the awfulness?_

_R&R_


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